Cops can’t stop quarantine breakers
(CNS): Chief Medical Officer Dr John Lee confirmed that the police do not have the details of any of the people who have tested positive for COVID-19 so they are unable to stop those who break the lawfully mandated self-isolation from wandering around the community. Instead, anyone who sees a person they know to be positive breaking the legal isolation should call 911, which will pass the information on to the Public Health Department.
There have been increasing public concerns this week that some individuals who are known to be positive and should be in full isolation are wandering around their communities and not following the rules of the mandated isolation, which lasts for fourteen days.
CNS has learned that although neighbours have reported this to the police, raising their concerns about the immediate risk posed to others, police officers have said that they cannot do anything about it because they do not have the details of anyone who is under mandated isolation in order to enforce the isolation measures.
On Thursday, during his regular update of the current spread of COVID-19 in the Cayman community, Dr Lee said that those who breach the isolation requirements will be pursued. But he confirmed that no agency other than the health authorities have the details of those who have tested positive. He said this was because the privacy rights of patients are paramount.
The CMO explained that the police are not entitled to the information but that the Public Health Department continues to monitor those in isolation and staff are conducting “some covert work” with regards to those in home quarantine. But he was emphatic that patient details could not be shared with law enforcement ahead of any potential isolation breach.
“If a query were to come to public health, we would raise that matter with the law enforcement agencies,” he said. “There is some covert work being done if we have a credible reason to suspect that people are not complying.” But no information about who has tested positive will be given to “any agency that does not absolutely require it”, he added.
Dr Lee said that, for example, a model family who were all in absolute compliance with the directive “would be quite rightly asking us what right did we have sharing their information when there was no suggestion that they were in any way breaching the law”. He added that even though they were public health doctors, “we always hold the patient as the most important person and we try to protect their rights whenever we can”.
Dr Lee said the surveillance team has grown and they have the skills and experience required to manage isolation and issues of compliance. He noted that each family in mandated isolation is managed on their own merits.
There are currently around 30 individuals in clusters, within a group of households who have tested positive and who are still under the mandated self-isolation 14-day period. None of their locations have been revealed but it is understood that in some cases the status of the patients has leaked to immediate neighbours.
Around 19 of the positive patients are suffering mild symptoms and the rest are asymptomatic, according to Dr Lee. But regardless of their health status, they are all required to remain in the home where they are isolating. The CMO has previously explained that they are checked by public health daily and assisted with their health as well as other support needs.
Meanwhile, Dr Lee had no new results again Thursday as the lab is working on clearing the new test kits. However, he said there are now around 65 samples going through the testing process and he hoped that he would be able to announced those results on Saturday.
He also confirmed that a meeting took place with government officials and medical professionals about managing and shaping a policy regarding the increase in testing, but he has not yet outlined what that will be.
See Thursday’s press briefing on CIGTV below:
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Category: Health, Local News, Medical Health
If after 3 weeks of isolation, what we get from our Government is …. nothing. I am done. Stick a fork in me. Useless aholes
I find it hard to believe that the selfishness of a few individuals is being blamed on the people who are trying to save lives in Cayman. Those people we see on CIGTV nearly every day are trying their best to protect the people of Cayman. They are working hard and so far have done a world class job. In any society there will be people who don’t care about others; these should be the people that you throw your insults at, not the ones working hard trying to stop it. We have never had to deal with anything like this before and the legislation may not be in place to prevent selfish people exposing others to risk of infection. The team has done a better job than any other country I can think of; Cayman has a opulation of about 65,000 and we have over 40 ventilators to deal with severe cases. We have more than enough test kits, there are no real food shortages and we should all be grateful for the excellent leadership of our Government for this. I did not vote for this Government but when someone is doing a good job it deserves to be acknowledged.
Good Day.
It does not make any sense to locked up an entire country and not controlled those one positive for the virus. When extreme mesures have been taken why can they just put the public’s well being before the individual ones.
It is unreasonable that this people are not being monitores 24/7. And now the Gov is talking about community spread, maybe they catch it from the already positive cases?!
The people already positive they should not even been in their homes, they should be taken care off. Because if they are quarantine for 14 days they still need to ear and get groceries. It is just common sense.
Cayman has so many hotels now, what are not these people there?! It is the same logistics jut a little more people.
Just saying…thanks
Iceland has tested one-tenth of its population for coronavirus at random and found HALF of people have the disease without realising – with only seven deaths in 1,600 cases.
Herd immunity!
This is simple isn’t it? Is a person, who is knowingly infected, breaking the law if they do not obey isolation/quarantine regulations or whatever legal provisions are currently in place (I’m not a lawyer). If that is the case then that individual surely loses some degree of the right to medical confidentiality and the police should have access to the information required to enforce the law. Again I’m not a lawyer and there are comments on here obviously from lawyers which make sense, but it seems relatively straight forward to me. Human rights cannot surely be absolute in the face of wider community considerations.
The entire point of what Dr Lee is saying is that the police don’t have the right to the list of infected people, only to the info on people who are breaking the law. Only the HSA know who is breaking the law. They can tell the police. The police will then arrest them.
1.04pm How many have been arrested?. Neither the Premier or Dr Lee have denied the reports of these self quarantiners on the loose.
The HSA know they are breaking the law how exactly? Whereas checking your ID at Fosters or at one of their roadblocks against a list of isolation cases would deter people from going out as well as enabling the police to filter nuisance cases reported to 911 from genuine whistleblowing on quarantine breakers.
I’m writing this at 1.25pm Sat April 11. Can’t wait to see if the Premier mentions this colossal cock up with the “self quarantine” arrangements” at the upcoming briefing. The Minister won’t because he has more important things on his mind, like his “Jingles” competition and how to translate “Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman” into Swahili.
I don’t think I’ve ever been more ashamed of our country’s leadership than during this period. You hold a press briefing to read information we can all see on CNN? is this 1930? Where is our local context? What is our strategy? Who is running the asylum? People need to know 🤦♂️
I said on 03 April that “I believe that we have to transition as soon as possible to a regime where:
• any person who meets the criteria for being tested is automatically subject to a ‘mandatory quarantine’;
• tracing of potential contacts commences immediately following the individual qualifying for testing; and
• a positive test result automatically makes established contacts also subject to ‘mandatory quarantine’.
If we’re in this to win, we have to continue to make the tough calls. I say dispense with ‘voluntary isolation’ and introduce ‘mandatory quarantine’ with the appropriate rules and penalties.”
At the press briefing that day, Dr John Lee said the Public Health Department has not enforced hard-line quarantine arrangements for those who test positive for COVID-19 in the community to avoid the danger of scaring those who might be sick underground. Dr Lee said it was critical that people with symptoms are honest about their condition, and quarantines can scare people into lying about their health, posing a greater risk than managing their isolation at home.
I remain of the view that we are catering too much to those who we feel would not be socially responsible to acknowledge that they are not feeling well. It should come as no surprise that some of these persons will likewise not be socially responsible in adhering to self-isolation. If those people will only seek help if they know that they can continue their normal lives, then why would we expect them to do otherwise?
While we have held on to this notion, I am still unable to see any reference to ‘self-isolation’ in the new regulations which have been introduced. Does ‘self-isolation’ not warrant recognition in those regs as an arrangement between an individual and some relevant authority, and should it not be subject to conditions? Do we not have at our disposal electronic monitoring? With limited disclosure of identity to those who fit and monitor these devices, can we not use this system to monitor compliance without wide-scale disclosure of peoples identity?
I reiterate what I said a week ago: “If we’re in this to win, we have to continue to make the tough calls.”
Can someone explain (or can the Govt be asked at the press conference) why First Baptist Church was allowing hundreds of people to congregate on Saturday morning.. people were queuing 2ft apart, speaking in groups, and elbow bumping (not been acceptable for weeks). What is the point of putting all this effort in if a group of people are going to ignore the restrictions and ruin it for the rest of us…
If this true, this is great news, the only way for our population to obtain Herd Immunity to viruses is for people to be able to go about their normal lives. It’s better for children and healthty adults to catch the virus naturally than to take a vaccine.
Older persons or vulnerable individuals should always be isolated.
This is clearly terrible advice, given that you have no idea if the people at the church included the ‘older or vulnerable’ people or the fact that the younger among them were potentially carriers to others in their households and the community (at the grocery stores etc.)
Thank you for making my point that’s exactly how we would achieve Herd Immunity.
Older people do die, remember we are promised 70 years, I don’t want to seem cold but, what about the estimated 160,000 people that died yesterday in the world from non Coronavirus causes? Is lesser value put on these lives?
Do you have a better solution? 18 months waiting on a vaccine is not an option?
Did you even read my comments, older persons and vulnerable persons should be isolated to allow for the virus to take its natural course on healthy persons.
This has to be done, kicking it down the road will only further destroy our economy, destroy lives, cause other underlying issues like stress, unnecessary hardship, domestic violence, divorce, crime, suicide and a myriad of societal problems, that is government is not prepared to handle.
Is our country going to shutdown every time a Coronavirus hits our shores?
If you got a better solution let us know!
Respiratory therapists play a critical role in the battle against COVID-19. Right now, not only is the nation facing a shortage of ventilators, but also those that operate them. https://www.ktuu.com/video/?vid=569548022
150,000 respiratory therapists in the US, 170 in Alaska (731,545 population) or 1 therapist per 4303 ppl. in AK and 2,533 in the US.
So Cayman, population 60k, should have 13-23 respiratory therapists.
The Critical Care Nurses and Intensivists carry out that role in the Cayman Islands
Is there enough critical care nurses for 30 ventilators that are coming? A friend of mind was one. A very good specialist with extensive experience.
I am so ticked off that I have wasted 3 weeks of my life for no reason. If I had known positive persons were allowed to roam free, with no police intervention I would not have bothered. We will have community spread, regardless of my actions. Only thing is I would have less exposure early. So sorry I self isolated earlier,
why is royal palms crowdeded. the law is the law where is the rcips to enforce this
csuman marl road was videoing this morning where else is crowded i wonder about barkus
Great news if true, people need to get Herd Immunity to the virus, staying at home they will not get this.
What I wonder is why is there a sense that we are in prison and not allowed to have Fun doing it! We are sheltering in place voluntarily and police world wide are acting as though we are guilty of something. They seem to have conflated two ideas…people staying home to be well, and some unknown wrongdoing.
We all need to be wearing masks to stop the spread. Keep your distance and wear a mask.
Been looking to buy a mask for my wife and me for a month. No luck. No luck either is buying Clorox wipes, Lysol disinfectant, liquid soap or isopropyl alcohol. I have been to Kirk Market, three different Foster’s and Cost-u-Less multiple times, but no luck ever. I just only the privileged get them.
10.55am I hope we get to share the 65,000 face masks on their way. It seems certain connected people get them without a problem.
They have isopropyl alcohol at Kirk market. Also you can buy the liter bottles of “sanitizer’ really just alcohol, at CDG stores. Hope that helps. Be safe
Progressive Distributors also have rubbing alcohol. Supermarkets have liquid soaps the expensive brands in stock.
You can make a simple mask by cutting a shirt sleeve off of an old shirt to pull over your head the. wear over your mouth and nose. In the absence of masks, the shirt sleeve is better than nothing.
Use dish soap.
How many people who have been diagnosed with covid-19 are wandering the streets? I don’t think they’re all breaking the law. In addition, Dr. Lee said that the police do not have information on those who have the coronavirus, but he did not say that no action is being taken.
I really want to know what the CI Government’s plans are? How longer are they planning to keep this bs going?
Dr. LEE has to know that with this imposed quarantine, more of the population will be susceptible to catching the virus once these restrictions are lifted!
They can’t keep us locked away forever, the virus isn’t going anywhere anytime soon and they know this and yet Alden, Jon Jon, Dr. Lee, and the Governor continue to oversee the destruction of the of the economy that remains.
Cayman’s economy is teetering on collapse thanks the CI government and the elected officials that appear to take a stand against this lunacy taking place.
Real Leaders lead!
Your real leaders have kept Cayman in control of the virus with no big(deaths)problems for now. They are doing a great job considering they have to work with every kind of person good, bad, social, and antisocial. It sounds like you are one of the ones who will go out and do whatever you like with no regard for anyone else. Our good leaders are your lunatics. And you are ours.
I definitely would never break the law, but I know I’m never going to get immuned to this virus, sitting in my home waiting on vaccine which may come in 6 months, 1 year or 18 months!
I apply common sense, every flu season and hope I dont catch the flu, but if I do, i’d prefer to take my chances and catch the virus naturally.
Are you willing wait it out? The CI government and other governments are basically kicking this problem down the road?
You do realize the virus is not leaving our shores and sooner or later you will catch it or a mutated variant of the virus, its either that or take your vaccine, which might not even work if the virus mutates locally.
These are the questions you should be asking our “leaders”?
Not teetering…. This is sinking fast and many people already drowned, many more and the rest of us facing the same fate.
There are very few that have the financial fortitude to wait this out the very rich and the guys/gals that have they rasta shack and go fishing and drink a few beers.
I admire both! They are living the rest of us slaves.
Dr. Lee has been doing an excellent job in very difficult circumstances, and his desire to encourage voluntary cooperation and to limit any appearance of heavy handedness is understandable. However, his apparent suggestion at Thursday’s Covid-19 update that his department has not been providing information to assist the police in enforcing the provisions of the Penal Code and the Public Health Law is exceedingly worrying. Any such non-cooperative approach, if continued by government, risks profoundly undermining the government’s entire ‘Covid-19’ strategy.
Here are a few of the arguments against Dr. Lee’s apparent approach.
Our law clearly sets out that the police have a critical role in protecting the public from persons who contravene isolation orders as set out in both the Penal Code and the relevant Public Health Regulations.
Section 167 of the Penal Code specifies that:
A person who unlawfully or negligently does any act which he knows or has reason to believe to be likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to health commits an offence.
As with other criminal offences, it is simply not the role of the Chief Medical Officer to surveil or apprehend criminals or conduct inquiries into any potential criminal offences, including any wanton breach of an isolation order. Neither is it the role of the Chief Medical Officer to usurp the role of the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to who is or is not charged with a Section 167 offence. However, as with all other criminal offences, it is the civic duty of all persons, including the Chief Medical Officer, to assist the police in detecting crime and apprehending criminals.
Further, the entirety of Part VI of the Public Health Law implicitly and explicitly requires the the Chief Medical Officer to disclose otherwise confidential information regarding breaches of isolation orders to the relevant authorities including the Director of Public Prosecutions, and the Courts.
Further still, Section 16 of the Public Health (Communicable Diseases) Regulations explicitly provides for the police acting to enforce compliance with Public Health Regulations;
16. Constables may, if so requested by the Chief Medical Officer, enforce compliance with these regulations and the Law, and in so doing to enter any premises without a warrant.
As a further practical matter and meaning no disrespect to Dr. Lee, a Chief Medical Officer is not likely to be the most appropriate person to organise evidence bundles for the Court or otherwise prepare criminal charges in relation to the breach of isolation orders. It is therefore necessary for the Chief Medical Officer to work with the police and prosecutors in deterring and prosecuting breaches of isolation orders.
If the Chief Medical Officer is not comfortable with requesting the assistance of the police or with assisting the police, prosecutors and the Court in deterring and prosecuting crimes related to breaches of isolation orders, then someone else needs to do it.
Finally, as a matter of professional ethics and in relation to any right to privacy, any right of persons to confidentiality in the handling of their medical information is qualified and not absolute. By way of example, physicians have a positive duty to disclose confidential patient information when that disclosure is necessary to limit the danger a patient may pose to himself/herself or the danger a patient may pose to others. Persons who breach isolation orders are clearly a danger to the public and they lose the right to have relevant medical information that discloses that danger kept from those they may have infected, the police, prosecutors and the Court.
In recognition of the need to have limitations on the protection of private medical data, the Data Protection Law itself contains carve-outs permitting the disclosure of otherwise confidential medical information in exactly the types of situations that arise when a person breaches an isolation order and exposes the public to a highly contagious and potentially life threatening disease.
Hopefully Dr. Lee, or if he is unable, the Premier or the Minister will do whatever is necessary to ensure that the law is followed, cooperation is extended to the police, prosecutors and the Court, and the public is protected.
Well said! I agree completely!
After all the incredible efforts by Government, and the superb community response in respecting curfews and draconian measures – how have they got this so wrong? And why would anyone under quarantine, positve or not, wish to inflict harm upon the rest of us?
The Government may be left with no choice – and with likely community support – but to name and shame. Put a police guard outside the house, you’ve named them.
We are so close to avoiding health catastrophe, and close to beginning to sort the local economy, and yet a few bastards are willing to mess it all up (and possible kill) because they can’t sit in their house for 14 days.
Someone start a Go Fund Me or whatever these things are called to support government in naming and shaming. I’m in. we are talking about LIFE here. FFS
If I got it, all unna getting it too Bobo
The epitome of Caymankind right here folks.
Almost… Let’s work on your Caymanian accent..
Bobo, cha… If I got it then… Goodnight hanna
Nice effort troll.
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-04-08/new-data-suggests-u-s-deaths-may-be-lower-than-feared
We knew this all along, but of course, the arsonists will take the credit for this.
Not sure what you mean by arsonists. But clearly this is a silly policy.
You had better hope that deaths anywhere are lower than feared. That will be the measure of success or failure. Or do you somehow think that a lower toll will be evidence that measures were not necessary?
South Korea uses a variety of apps which show very specific areas where active cases live, or have congregated (without private identifiers). This allows uninfected to avoid those areas and/or increase their level of personal precaution if they must transit common property. Our strata pool might be “closed”, but covidiot residents are still using the common furniture, pool area, trash can lids, stairwell railings, and gated tennis court latches, like community transmission is myth.
South Korea and New Zealand have showed the rest of the world.
The british would say unna taking the piss, this government so backwards HOW ARE WE SUPPOSE TO KNOW WHO THEY ARE IF IT IS AGAINST THE LAW TO LET US KNOW WHO THEY ARE DUMMIES???? We all go get it cuz unna aint doing a thing to stop it the fines should increase to 10,000 snd 10 yrs inprisonment if you know you got it and avoiding being quarrantined why all of this work for nothing send a police officer to guard them make sute they aint leaving their premises or lock dem up thats is what unna would do to us caymanians
A lot of things seem contrary to common sense these days. If you don’t have the virus, stay home. If you have it, do whatever you want, we aren’t monitoring you. Human rights are only for wrong doers. The best cure for this “deadly” virus, wash your hands and distance yourself from others. In public don’t look at or acknowledge people you’ve known for decades. The idiots don’t realize how suspicious it looks that they might have the virus. We are going to test you. If you have it, isolate. If you don’t have it, hmm wait a minute, there’s no cure, one can get the virus after testing. Damn, haven’t thought about that yet. If you cough, sneeze or have shortness of breath, you may have the virus. Our anxiety alone can make us do or feel any or all these things. The mind is beyond powerful. I’m not saying the actual virus isn’t contagious, clearly it is, just ask those who have it and are sent home to isolate with their families. If you have a serious health condition and also happen to have the virus and you die, you died from the virus. The good news is, no one in 2020 will die from a heart attack, diabetes or cancer. There is a God after all. And now that we know for sure, please God, let some atheist scientist, working at a capitalist pharmaceutical company, come up with a cure for this virus tomorrow. Please! Please! Please! Oh and let us lock everything down and expect business to resume sometime later on – as if businesses don’t die too. Especially here where fixed costs are so high and we have to let the customers fly in. Perhaps one will recall the recent enacted laws requiring a local presence. Crash MBA course for politicians. Never open your business under a whore house. Why? You don’t want any F-ing overhead. Cayman has serious overhead costs. Finally, our main business models are based on people visiting and relocating here. Solution. Close the airport. God help our beautiful islands.
Can I just say a big thank you {“shout out”), to Wendy Ledger. This dangerous situation was known but none of the other media representatives at the briefing were brave enough to mention it. Without Wendy most of us would have been none the wiser and Govt., following Cayman tradition would have swept it under the carpet and kept us all in ignorance.
Alden needs to restore our confidence in his regime and tell us what steps are being taken to stop these “breakouts” and whether any of the quarantine breakers are receiving the same treatment as the curfew breakers caught by the police.
Friend when this is all over we will still be susceptible to catching the virus, so you just stay right there and enjoy the quarantine and worrying about “breakouts!” 👍
8.17pm When this is all over we will all have been given a vaccine and Covid 19 will just be a bad memory like the Spanish Flu which killed tens of millions.
You take your vaccine for a virus that may probably be mutated by time the vaccine is made available to the public and I’ll risk catching it naturally going about my normal life to build a Herd Immunity to the virus.
Fair play Wendy. Now please have them state on the record that nobody is arriving here without mandatory quarantine under surveillance until a vaccine is proven and administered. Sorry tourism, but you’re on hiatus for 18 months. Even residents returning from a vacation should we somehow get the chance to go anywhere (although not sure why I’d want to go anywhere at all, maybe New Zealand if they let me in)
Wow… So, we are going to start arresting and detaining citizens because they are sick? What if they are NOT sick? Or, better yet, what if they refuse the vaccine??? You guys are shallow minded !! Whilst government gets more power, more freedom will be taken away!
How much freedom do you have now dummy
Not because they are sick – because they are breaking the law and putting other people in danger by doing so.
Not because they are sick. Because they don’t care about the sacrifices everyone else is making to try and get this place back up and running so we can get back to normal lives again.
let me guess… you think Vaccines have harmful affects?
If these idiots would allow nature to take its course we would need vaccines. It called herd immunity! Information alert – you are now more susceptible to catching the virus now that you’ve been lock away for few weeks.
Instead of outing the people who have contracted Covid. What needs to really happen is the public needs to be told these people did go to the Fosters so and so location… these people did go to cost U less…. a person went to Price Right…. etc. etc. The public doesn’t need to know who the people are but definitely people need to keep tracking them that do.
It’s a slippery slope when you stop denying rights to people… even rights that put us in danger.
10.48am AND 10.40am We are talking about people who have tested POSITIVE and are in quarantine. They have broken the law and endangered many lives of people who have not broken it. Now like our curfew breakers they need to pay the penalty and pay the fine/do the time, by their actions they forfeited any rights they may have had.
Dr. Lee seems to be doing a good job, but he blew this one. Confidentiality is not “paramount” in the middle of a public health emergency. The public health is paramount. The police should be made aware of who is quarantined. Dr. Lee should welcome their help to check up on the well-being of the quarantined people every day. It’s just a side benefit if they get caught breaking quarantine.
Agreed. It’s not a private health emergency / issue.
Let’s get this straight.
If police see someone on the street driving a car while drunk or carrying a weapon they can arrest them not just because they’re breaking the law but because it’s a public safety issue.
Yet if someone roams the streets infected with a virus that potentially could kill hundreds they’re protected by patient confidentiality? This is complete BS.
Under article 2 of ECHR, states have a positive duty to prevent foreseeable loss of life.
Article 8 waives the right to privacy and family life if it is, ‘necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.’
Not rocket science is it?
Although the UK has officially left the EU the terms of the divorce are still to be finalised so right now ECHR should still apply here and that quite clearly gives RCIPS the right to access the medical information.
8:41am, you just want to know who these people are so you can start gossiping. Assume that everyone has the virus keep your distance and stay home.
8:41 doesn’t want to know who they are. He wants them to be guaranteed to stay in quarantine for 14 days. Just like the students. You dont need to know who they are if you know they re tucked up safe and sound in Comfort Suites. You only need to know who they are if the government lets them wander around.
Ugh, no. I just want them to abide by the quarantine. This is why no one should have been allowed to ‘self isolate’. Because there are selfish idiots, duh. Everyone but government seems to have known this. They put us all at risk by not doing the right thing. Now we all have to loose thousands of dollars in revenue for their poor decision. But, at least we can all sleep peacefully, knowing they are collecting their full salary, and are in no peril.
ECHR will still apply after divorce too.
But for how long? One of the UK government’s main post-Brexit aims is to roll back the Human Rights Act (which is obviously based on ECHR) and separate UK legislation from the constraints currently placed on it by Europe.
If only the cops here would keep things confidential… but alas, co workers sometimes get a call before a spouse. Happened to me at NHS (shocking) and when I went to the police station.
This is exactly why the information should remain confidential. It sounds as if they are being well monitored. Don’t stir up trouble.
6.51pm I f they are being well monitored, god help us if they weren’t, they would all be out on the streets without a care in the world.
I think Dr Lee’s big worry is what’s known as the ‘chilling’ effect. In simple terms, if people know that the results of a positive test will be released to RCIPS they won’t get tested. It’s an interesting dilemma.
Trust me, when symptoms set in, they will find their way to the hospital quickly enough.
By which time the damage will have been done.
Except they are not testing asymptotic people now so a zero sum game
There are instances of people required to be in self isolation boasting of their outings to get groceries and the like. Is Dr. Lee going to send his squad of enforcers to arrest them? Are they not a much greater danger than some person not required to self isolate who is out for an early morning jog?
What about the boasting persons infecting our dear grocery store personnel who have really been troopers during these times! No one seems to think of them. They are who keep us fed.
It is disgusting that not a single isolation breaker has been arrested. They are the greatest danger to us all. Their breaches are well known, and some even boasted on social media.
If you know that to be correct and are not just repeating rumours, i hope hou forwarded this information to the police.
What I don’t understand is how does a member of the public know that someone is breaking quarantine if nobody is supposed to know who is actually on quarantine?
Agreed.
Curfew-breakers get arrested and dragged to Court (or soon to be ticketed) and are then known to all….
Know vectors of CVD-19 get to roam free EVEN THOUGH they are “quarantined”.
Human rights, confidentiality, democracies, this is how it works.
The price you pay for these freedoms.
I can assure you that when people start dropping like flies in the Cayman Islands like they have been in NYC and New Jersey the past week, your views on human rights, confidentiality and democracy will rapidly change. Nobody gives a damn about freedom when the priority is simply to survive.
@10am
The person above agrees with your view. Read, think, understand. If still a problem, then ask another to explain it to you.
Then do that again. It does work.
8:44 needs to learn to write with clarity.
I think we are likely at the top of the curve already. So we probably won’t drop like flies moving forward.
People been dropping like flies throughout human history, save the dramatics! Less than 1.5% death rate and 95% over 75years. Oh we cant afford to loose another life, people been dying forever, Im going to die, your going to die.
What other outcome are you expecting? You really want to change your way of life for that? You didnt change when an estimated 1billion caught the 2009 H1N1. Why now? Wake up Cayman Islands, demand accountability from the government.
Take look at the Indexmundi World deaths clock, at 10:00am today 65,600 people had died in the world TODAY not related the Virus. My point here is 157,000 persons die everyday globally of other causes, do we change of way life for that.
https://www.indexmundi.com/clocks/indicator/deaths/world
It is dramatic in NYC when they have mass burials everyday and they don’t even know the names of the people being buried.
Refrigeration trucks in NYC streets loaded with bodies is dramatic.
Sounds like CNN conveniently forgot to mention that Hart Island has been used for more than 150 years by NYC officials as a mass burial site for those with no next-of-kin, or families who cannot afford funerals.
1,000 people dying in a day in NYC from a virus is certainly dramatic. In fact it is damn friggin scary. But you seem prepared to meet your maker soon. Good luck.
It’s Covid-19, not CVD-19 🙄
I think we can figure it out
6.47am Are you living on the moon?, every one in the vicinity of these “clusters” knows what’s going on and knows whose involved. That’s how Cayman is.
Well, if you know your neighbour had someone come in on the flights before the last BA one you know their whole household is meant o be isolated. Then you see them get in their car and drive off to the shops. Or you see people drive up to their house.
Pretty damn obvious.
This is Cayman before the sneeze good we know about it…I think that is what Dr. Lee has not taken into consideration..this would not have been brought up except that someone knew they were supposed to be isolated and saw them out and about..
Surprised Sandra has outed any yet. They have to be sharp to get by the Marl Road..
I have never seen so many idiotic comments about one subject.
Soldier Crab what is idiotic about how our government is not applying logic in how it handles the positive cases? So the healthy now all suffer.
Great job Alden and Dr. Lee!👏👏
I’d love to know why the identities aren’t “absolutely necessary”?! These are unique circumstances, surely the positives could not object – mind you given some are wandering around that maybe says a lot. Smh.
It think Dr. Lee doesn’t really know what happens here in Cayman..In Cayman we have what we call the Marl Road and I ‘m not talking about the online rag although it is somewhat similar. Cayman is too small to keep secrets and word gets around really quick.
These people that are breaking the rules need to be arrested and fined but then what? The whole island will know right?
What the government needs to do is to put a few undercover police officers on duty to track these or at the very least check out the sightings called in to 911..
I am staying home with my family trying to get them and others safe and it is very disheartening that these people that have a family member with the virus are out shopping and acting like nothing is wrong…This is nothing short of attempted murder if someone gets sick and dies from their stupidity..
In my opinion, the police know about this but they can’t arrest them because then that is like outing them but I say in these cases they deserve to be outed and fined or taken to court..
How are we ever going to stop this virus if this is allowed to continue..
Stay Home means Stay home…stop spreading your damn germs..
How about ankle bracelets that parolees wear? No one would know as they are in isolation and 911 can keep track if they leave the residence. That could work.
No one brave nuf to install
In Hong Kong people who test positive are required to wear a wristband that connects to their cell phone. They get arrested if they go out.
Not here, they will cut it off before they leave.
Simple. You test positive then you, your family and anyone you share your home with is moved into the comfort suites under threat of prosecution if you don’t comply. If they wish to stop the virus in its tracks then this is the only way to solve it. As other posters have commented, what use is it insisting that me and my family and everyone else on island stays inside but then allow known positives to “self isolate” when it’s known that they aren’t. We’re currently policed by consent. We can withdraw that consent as a community very quickly if all of this effort is for naught because there isn’t a mechanism to force positive imbeciles to stay in their house. If they’re not going to enforce something as simple as that then I’m going camping this weekend and will appeal the fine. The risk of me doing that compared to the risk of a known positive walking the street without any means to force them inside isn’t the same ballpark. It isn’t even the same sport.
Pastor Alfredo
Keeping those that tested positive a secret and at the same time asking the public to report any of them that is breaking the law, hello Cayman we must be a bunch of fools.
Most logical comment , all in a few words. 👆👆👆
This is why the non- COVID persons are being asked to stay home because the positive COVID cases are roaming the streets with not a care in the world. It is absolutely ridiculous!
If they choose to be private by all means but they can at least tell us the districts the
cases are located in. They don’t have to be specific by saying John Tom from ABC Street, George Town. Maybe then persons would be more cautious within that district.
Just a thought.
What would it take to have the police watch these infected? This is like the HIV infected who go around infecting innocent people knowing full well what they are doing!
And that is a criminal offense.
Exactly.
Dear CNS
“This Bill of Rights, Freedoms and Responsibilities is a cornerstone of democracy in the Cayman Islands.”
So says the Bill of Rights, Freedom and Responsibilities under the Cayman Islands Constitution Order 2009.
The Constitution is the highest law of the land and it guarantees certain rights to me as a citizen. Let’s look at a few of those rights and their current status.
• Right to personal liberty (on pause, I cannot leave my house between certain hours and on certain days)
• Right to conscience and religion (Modified, I am presently prohibited from attending places of worship to practice my religion)
• Right to assembly and association (I cannot congregate in groups of more than 10 or stand closer than 6 feet to others in public)
• Right to movement (suspended I am under curfew and cannot freely move about the Island)
• Right to education (schools have been shut and my children are home)
• Right to private and family life (I cannot visit my mother in East End as visiting parents is presently not a lawful reason to be on the road.)
The Premier stated that we as a people are governed by consent, he is right. I have voluntarily consented to the suspension of my constitutional rights, because I understand that the collective rights of our society, trumps those of myself as an individual.
Words cannot express the shock of being told today that individual “patient rights” is paramount, when the constitutional rights of the citizens of the entire island has been modified or placed on hold.
COVID19 is allegedly six times more contagious than the current flu; it is not a sexually transmitted disease, or some lifetime scourge that individuals will have to live with. There is no shame or long-term stigma associated with a temporary affliction that has impacted over 1.5 million globally in less than three months. If anything, those who got it and survived are going to be superior to the rest of us as they will likely have developed immunity.
Another key statement in section 19 of the Constitution is “all decisions and acts of public officials must be lawful, rational, proportionate and procedurally fair.”
States in the US are suing their Governments over breaches of their constitutional rights to gun ownership. It would not be a stretch for Cayman Islands citizen, us the governed, to retract our consent for the present circumstance by suing the government for actions which are irrational, disproportionate and unfair.
The decision to forcefully quarantine citizens on “suspicion of having COVID 19” while letting known persons with cases of an infectious disease remain anonymous and freely roam our community cannot be a rational decision. It cannot be proportionate or procedurally fair to lock down 65,000 residents, crash the economy, and suspend constitutional rights, while risking the health and welfare of the community to protect the right to privacy of a few dozen individuals.
I am not saying to publish their faces and names, but at the very least, have an Officer stationed at the gate of each residence with a positive case and prevent innocent unsuspecting persons from visiting and the infectious person from leaving and spread it. That is what would be rational, proportionate and fair.
People have lost their life’s work in their businesses, getting evicted from homes, lost jobs, going hungry, worrying about paying bills and living in constant fear.
We are told that the lockdown period will be extended by 14 days each time a new case is discovered, yet the Government refuses to arm citizens or the authorities with the information that will keep us safe by identifying the sources of the virus within our community, or suspending their constitutional rights in the interest of public order by putting them in quarantine.
I think it is our duty as citizens to demand better from our Government, to not simply accept the irrational decisions of our public servants and to demand that their actions accord with the Constitution.
The media is an important part of any democracy, sans a class action suit, I am hoping that you CNS and others will hold the Government accountable, by demanding answers, and insisting that this madness stops.
Question, does the Penal Code trump the constitution?
Whilst it is not their fault that they caught this disease and hopefully they will recover, but for the sake of the rest of the population put them in proper isolation facilities or place security guards at their homes.
Education, specialists and money can’t fix stupid.
There are also drunk/don’t care covidiots driving out EVERY day to who-knows-where regardless of thei surname roll-call.
If you know so much, call the police.
Yeah – the police would actually do something about that. Whereas if you call them because you know your neighbour has a family member who has tested positive but continues to go down to Fosters they will tell you they can do nothing.
All the police would know is that they are drunk driving.
Why? They can’t arrest them anyway because they don’t know their status…
There are so many emergency powers being deployed, but in a half-assed manner while the law-abiding populace sits obediently in self-quarantine witnessing ineptitude. If we are deciding this is a territorial contagion emergency, and it sounds like that’s the sentiment, then pull ALL the stops, and take it seriously in every regard, otherwise it appears a lot like untrustworthy campaigning from the least trustworthy regime in the island’s history.
In my humble opinion if you have positive COVID-19 individuals wandering around infecting the community then they forgo their privacy rights and should be named and shamed. It defeats the whole purpose to lock the country down and you then have these individuals infecting through the back door. Makes absolutely no sense. Are these people aware the virus has killed 95,000 people globally? Are they prepared to add more to this number and if so, would this not be murder?
We reported a curfew-violating gathering yards from the station and they never even responded. Much easier to report that ambient crime is stable, I suppose.
CNS: The recommendation is to call 911 because that is logged and recorded.
Yes, we called 9-1-1.
Anyone who is infected needs to be quarantined in a goverment supervised area and not allowed to interact with anyone until they are cleared. Could it be that they may be supporters of goverment?
After all that work and sacrifice.
Now we are all under the mercy of a few entitled ones. Caymanian justice means we have to let them try. Then give them better jobs.
I suspect those that have Covid and are in quarantine have read or will read this.
FFS STAY THE %&#$ HOME! You’re risking the lives of many of your friends, family and neighbours and when someone does die from this and it’s from community transfer you will carry that with you forever and even if someone doesn’t die and suffers lifelong lung scaring what will you say to yourself?
They can kill us and the economy but we can’t touch them or control them. And neither can the Caymanian police. Good try Mr. premier. Culture wins again. Bummer.
The Premier just sits there with his smirk on his face (like Nero playing the violin while Rome burned) while the health minister is babbling on trying to be a multi linguist; yet we have infected people out in public spaces; this only could happen in the Cayman Islands
Dr. Lee.
This is simply not true.
The police have enough strength on the island to stop anything they please.
The problem here is if the police become as draconian as you, Alden and the Governor want them to be, there will be some very hard questions that you will be unable to answer to the satisfaction of the general public.
Loved watching Lee squirm trying to answer the question. Why doesn’t the Minister of Health get these tricky questions? Unfair of Lee to be put in that position. Still shocked at this revelation.
Is Dr. Lee a linguist? The health minister is too busy learning foreign languages to worry about anything important.
Yep, and yesterday he preached an entire sermon to make up for taking today off..
Health Minister, my behind!!
Aren’t Caymanians embarrassed by his childish antics? He would be run out of town in any other democracy. Totally unfit for the very important position he holds.
no because he gets them goodies!!!!!
6.35pm I would love to see a shot of the Premier when the “Minister of Health” is performing his vaudeville, he must either be rolling his eyes, holding his head in his hands, or blissfully asleep.Does this answer your question?.
Seymour has no business being the minister of health. Zero! Sorry if that makes him sad, but it makes me sad to lose my business.
Just because he’s a Minister doesn’t make him a Minister of Health. The head of WHO isn’t a medical doctor. These are the people we place our trust in.
Oh boy….We can shut down the entire economy. Suspend our rights to free movement. Decimate business and family finances in order slow the spread, but covid positive privacy is too important and cannot be disclosed to authorities so that they can ensure these massive sacrifices are not in vain. Unreal..
UnF&$#%ng real
If you have any reason to believe that health matters should not be kept private then please go and read all the comments towards Americans living here because Trump seized supplies from cayman.
Supplies TO Cayman.
If they were in supervised quarantine there would be no questions about whther they were wandering around. How come a whole plane load of people, noe of whom, are symptomatic, are confied to quarantine for 14 days, but a famil;y group with a known infected person is allowed to sel isolate on trust? Even after – as we have been told – they infect people outside the immediate family group?
I agree with your statement 9:53 but you are incorrect about the people who came in on the flight being asymptomatic. Some of them were showing symptoms an have tested positive for the virus (I believe 4 people).
11.37am What flight are you talking about. The BA passengers are to be tested at the end of their quarantine.
With all due respect to Dr Lee, it’s not for him to say whether patient confidentiality should or should not be paramount in these circumstances. It is for the legislators to do so.
This is a classic example of bureaucratic overreach.
This is ridiculous why are we all locked down 4 days a week, when people who have tested positive are wondering around the community at will?. If the the surveillance team has grown and have the skills to manage isolation and compliance why is this happening?. If this team are HSA staff where did they obtain their surveillance skills? If reports are true why has nobody been warned for prosecution for this extremely serious offence. Once they have broken self isolation they have foregone their “rights”.
The police apparently cannot be involved, but they certainly are with the BA flight returnees who are all in lockdown.
What is it with the blunt accusations and generalizations on this rock? I truly hope that only few individuals repeatedly engage in that “ behavior “ creating false impression that caymanians are not kind.
A “few” are clearly too much!
Why are the positives not in hard quarantine as the students were? Don’t we have 3 hotels available to assist with this?
Its futile allow them to self isolate because it is evident that they are who are doing the community spread.
If we have to Stay Home Cayman, then quarantine the positives or let us back out.
Makes no sense to me at all how thus is being treated.
Get them positives in hard quarantine it is not fair to us staying home and keeping healthy.
If you are allowing the positives all this freedom, then what about the rest of us??
This makes sense!